Dye migration is one of the biggest issues in screenprinting these days. I get more calls to help with this problem than with any other. It can be really insidious, as you can sometimes print and it doesn’t show up for weeks. I”ll cover a few topics this week, starting with testing the fabric. We previously covered a test for dye migration in an earlierContinue reading…

Pricing is an area where we as screen printers are typically ignorant, afraid, or just plain stupid. In no way would I say that I have all of the answers on screen print pricing but I can say that I have, and continue to, put a lot of thought into the subject, and make adjustments accordingly in my business. I do not believe in overly complicatedContinue reading…

It’s never fun matching another printer’s work, specifically with full color prints. You are kind of screwed in these situations because without provided seps and reliable engineering forms or without intimate knowledge of the other printer’s methods you are just making an educated guesses and if you say forget it and simply aim to improve the print or better match the original art the customerContinue reading…

This week The New York Times covered on the front page the relatively recent phenomenon of sports teams giving everybody that comes in the door a free t-shirt of the same color. It basically puts the whole crowd in uniform. The Winnipeg Jets were the first team to do this type of thing when 20 years ago they created their “white out” in the stands, encouragingContinue reading…

I just spent some time in New Orleans at the Jazz and Heritage Festival with 460,000 other music lovers, most of them wearing t-shirts. Then I was in Nashville at the ISS show with shirt vendors and fellow garment decorators. Add in a few forays into gift shops and airport stores and I have a view of what is going on in t-shirt land. MyContinue reading…

The Pantone color of the year for 2015 is Marsala. That is one of the many fascinating things to learn on the Pantone site. Very useful is conversion software that gets you as close as possible to the coated and uncoated colors (which we use to match ink colors) from the textile and other pantone numbers that customers sometimes throw at us. You might wantContinue reading…

I recently revived an old technique while doing some design development work: Faux Chenille Appliqué. Our friend Brian Lessard at Rutland taught us this technique years ago and it really holds up in terms of delivering WOW! factor while still remaining tasteful.. – We started with a killer hoody from Independent Trading Co. – Working from a vintage Pepsi Cola logo we added various stitching effects, twill and chenilleContinue reading…

I found the best scientific explanation of the white gold vs blue black dress debate which has been raging on social media on the Wired Magazine site. It mainly has to do with the context and adjustments your eyes make. This is just an extreme case where it falls right on the boundary of interpretation. If you really want to have your eyes crossed and rolledContinue reading…